New Cherryville city manager must try to restore trust

When Ben Blackburn starts a new job as Cherryville city manager on Dec. 1, he’ll be taking the reins of government in his hometown for the second time, and he’ll face some mighty big challenges.

Whatever fiscal challenges he confronts – officials have been looking for ways to trim expenses – those might seem simple compared to the task of restoring public trust.

The past 12 months have been filled with one city government scandal after the other and the departure of a significant number of city staff:

* Last December, the city clerk and finance director resigned on the same day.

* Earlier this year, the utilities supervisor was fired and later charged with embezzling from the city.

* In June, City Manager David Hodgkins resigned.

* In October, three police officers were among six Cherryville men arrested by federal agents for allegedly taking bribes, extorting money and providing protection for the transportation of stolen goods through the area.

* The police chief and captain were suspended with pay. The chief since has resigned.

A common thread through all of the above has been city officials’ refusal to fully disclose reasons for the terminations and resignations.

In one instance, officials said two people resigned over misuse of a city credit card but would not identify the two employees. An audit, later made public, had so much information redacted that it raised more questions than it answered.

Last month, officials said two of the officers arrested earlier had been disciplined, but refused to say what the two had done or how they were disciplined.

And when the city manager resigned, “mum” was the word from officials.

The people of Cherryville deserve better. They deserve to know why their city has been so besieged with terminations and resignations. They deserve to know what’s going on at their City Hall.

North Carolina transparency laws do not require government officials to reveal personnel information, but neither do they forbid openness. The law allows officials to speak out to maintain the public’s confidence.

That’s clearly what is needed in Cherryville where rumors and speculation have spread around town like a bad cold, infecting the public’s trust in its government. Setting the record straight by providing accurate information would go a long way toward creating an environment where citizens and officials work together to address city issues and solve city problems.

Mayor Bob Austell says the new city manager “contributes to the City Council’s efforts to establish public trust in our city” because his “loyalty and ethics are unquestionable.”

The city council hasn’t done much to ensure public trust with its closed-mouth approach to problems during the past year. Blackburn will get off to a good start on his new job if he leads a culture change at Cherryville City Hall and opens up to Cherryville residents about what has been going on in their government.